Allergy Guide by T.

Allergy Guide by T. I’m T. – a mom who turned years of allergy challenges into a practical guide. Here you’ll find support, education & safe food ideas for your family.

Vitamin D and allergies isn’t a simple yes-or-no story.Vitamin D interacts with the immune system through the vitamin D ...
26/08/2026

Vitamin D and allergies isn’t a simple yes-or-no story.

Vitamin D interacts with the immune system through the vitamin D receptor (VDR) — and genetics may be part of the reason people don’t necessarily respond to vitamin D in exactly the same way.

But here’s the important part:

association, prevention and treatment are three different questions.

Lower vitamin D status has been associated with allergic disease in some studies.

That does NOT automatically mean supplementation prevents allergies.

And it also doesn’t mean vitamin D has no potential role once allergic disease already exists.

Research suggests possible benefits in some conditions, including atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and urticaria, while evidence differs across allergic diseases.

So this isn’t a post telling you to take more vitamin D.

It’s a reminder that biology is rarely as simple as “vitamin D works” or “vitamin D doesn’t work.”

And genetics may be one more piece of that puzzle.

Next Wednesday: Dietary Diversity.

Vitamin D je jedna od onih tema kod kojih vrlo brzo završimo u jednom od dva tabora: ili mu se pripisuje gotovo sve, ili...
26/08/2026

Vitamin D je jedna od onih tema kod kojih vrlo brzo završimo u jednom od dva tabora: ili mu se pripisuje gotovo sve, ili ga se svodi isključivo na zdravlje kostiju.

A priča je ipak složenija.

Vitamin D sudjeluje u regulaciji imunološkog sustava, a njegov receptor — VDR — nalazi se i na brojnim imunološkim stanicama. Zato se već dugo istražuje njegova moguća uloga u alergijskim bolestima.

Ali postoji detalj koji se često izgubi u raspravama o tome „djeluje li vitamin D”:

nismo svi biološki jednaki.

Genetske varijante u VDR-u, ali i drugim genima uključenima u metabolizam i djelovanje vitamina D, mogu biti jedan od razloga zbog kojih njegov status i biološki učinak nisu jednaki kod svih ljudi.

I zato je važno razlikovati tri potpuno različita pitanja:

— je li niži status vitamina D povezan s alergijskim bolestima?
— može li suplementacija spriječiti njihov razvoj?
— može li imati učinak kod osobe koja alergijsku bolest već ima?

Na ta tri pitanja nemamo isti odgovor.

Postoje zanimljivi podaci o atopijskom dermatitisu, alergijskom rinitisu i urtikariji, dok su za druge alergijske bolesti rezultati manje konzistentni. A ni povezanost niskog vitamina D s alergijama sama po sebi ne dokazuje da je njegov nedostatak njihov uzrok.

Zato ovaj post nije poziv da krenete kupovati vitamin D niti da samoinicijativno povećavate doze.

Ali nije ni priča da vitamin D „nema veze s alergijama”.

To je područje imunologije u kojem još uvijek imamo više pitanja nego jednostavnih odgovora — i upravo zato ga vrijedi pratiti.

Sljedeće srijede nastavljamo s raznolikošću prehrane. 🥦🫐🥕

If your child has asthma, pollen season may be about more than sneezing. 🌿Your child’s airways are lined with a protecti...
25/08/2026

If your child has asthma, pollen season may be about more than sneezing. 🌿

Your child’s airways are lined with a protective layer of tightly connected cells. That barrier helps keep inhaled allergens and irritants from getting further inside.

But what happens when ragweed pollen reaches it?

Recent laboratory studies exposed human airway cells to ragweed pollen, house dust mites, and a combination of both.

Here’s what they found:

Ragweed affected the protective barrier.

Dust mites affected it too.

But together, they caused even greater disruption.

Ragweed also contains Amb a 11, an enzyme capable of breaking down proteins — another reason researchers are interested in how pollen interacts with the body’s protective barriers.

Does this prove that pollen exposure will worsen asthma in every child? No.

These studies examined human airway cells in the laboratory, not asthma symptoms in children.

But they help explain why pollen season deserves more attention than “it’s just a bit of sneezing.”

If you’re raising a child with asthma or allergies, share this with another parent who needs to see it. 🤍

Sources:

Zimbru et al. (2025). Breaking Barriers: The Detrimental Effects of Combined Ragweed and House Dust Mite Allergen Extract Exposure on the Bronchial Epithelium.
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/8/4113

Zimbru et al. (2026). Combined Exposure to Ragweed and House Dust Mite Exacerbates Airway Epithelial Barrier Dysfunction.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42195233/

Two people can both have an egg allergy — and need very different advice.One may tolerate extensively baked egg. Another...
24/08/2026

Two people can both have an egg allergy — and need very different advice.

One may tolerate extensively baked egg. Another may not.
One may react to airborne egg proteins during cooking. Another may only react after eating egg.
One may be suitable for home reintroduction. Another may need specialist-supervised introduction.

None of this makes one person’s allergy more or less “real”.

Egg allergy isn’t defined by how many restrictions someone follows. Heat, the form of egg, individual reaction thresholds, clinical history and previous reactions can all matter.

And this is exactly why someone else’s allergy plan should never automatically become yours.

The goal isn’t the greatest possible number of restrictions.

It’s the right precautions for the individual person. 🥚

Save this one for the next time you hear one of these myths.

Would your child’s school recognise anaphylaxis?Not just know that your child has food allergies.Not just know where the...
23/08/2026

Would your child’s school recognise anaphylaxis?

Not just know that your child has food allergies.
Not just know where the adrenaline is kept.

Recognise what is happening — while it is happening.

Because children do not always describe an allergic reaction in the words adults expect.

A child may say:

“My tongue feels funny.”
“This food is too spicy.”
“There’s something stuck in my throat.”
“My lips feel tight.”
“My chest is tight.”
“My stomach hurts.”
“Something is wrong.”
“Something bad is happening.”

And some children may not explain it in words at all.

They may put their hands in their mouth, pull or scratch at their tongue, drool, slur their words, develop a hoarse or unusual voice, or show a sudden change in behaviour.

None of these phrases or behaviours alone automatically means anaphylaxis.

But they are things the adults caring for a child with food allergy should know not to dismiss — and to interpret alongside the child’s symptoms and individual emergency plan.

Because a child experiencing a reaction may never say:

“I am having an allergic reaction.”

They may simply tell you that something feels funny.

And the adult in the room has to know what to look for next.

A written plan matters.
Accessible adrenaline matters.
Training matters.

But recognition is what connects all of them to action.

For parents, teachers, childcare staff, grandparents, babysitters, coaches — anyone who may one day be the adult in the room:

learn how that particular child may describe a reaction. Learn their emergency plan. Know where their adrenaline is. And know when to act.

Because in anaphylaxis, recognition is part of the emergency response.

Sources: FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), How a Child Might Describe an Allergic Reaction and FARE school/caregiver resources; ASCIA Best Practice Guidelines for anaphylaxis in schools and children’s education/care services.

My biggest fear about kindergarten isn’t that an accidental exposure could happen.It’s that when it does, someone might ...
22/08/2026

My biggest fear about kindergarten isn’t that an accidental exposure could happen.

It’s that when it does, someone might hesitate.

That they might call me first.
That they might wait to see if it gets worse.
That they might be afraid to give epinephrine.

Because accidents can happen even when everyone is trying to keep a child safe.

But what happens after the first signs of anaphylaxis should never depend on hesitation.

The story in this carousel stayed with me for exactly that reason. A child had an allergic reaction. Epinephrine was given. Emergency help was called. And thankfully, the child was okay.

That is what preparedness looks like.

I don’t expect anyone to promise me a world in which my child will never encounter an allergen.

I expect the adults responsible for my child to know exactly what to do if they do.

Epinephrine. Emergency services. Then call me.

Not the other way around. 🧡

In March 2024, we flew to Cancún with TUI Airways with our two children, both living with multiple food allergies.We bro...
21/08/2026

In March 2024, we flew to Cancún with TUI Airways with our two children, both living with multiple food allergies.

We brought all their food ourselves. We covered their seats, cleaned the surfaces around them and carried their medication. We made no request for an allergen-free aircraft or a guarantee that exposure could never happen.

Two weeks later, on our flight home, we were advised to declare their allergies at the airport in case suitable food could be provided.

So we did.

And suddenly, there was a question over whether our children would be allowed to fly home at all.

Only after we showed that TUI had already flown the same children from London to Cancún two weeks earlier were we allowed to board.

The suitable food we had been advised to ask about was never provided.

What stays with me most is the contradiction: disclosing their allergies created a barrier that hadn’t existed when we flew out.

Experiences like this shouldn’t disappear once the flight is over.

I’ve shared ours on skyrate.co.uk, an independent platform created specifically for passengers travelling with allergies. If you’ve had an allergy-related experience with an airline — positive or negative — you can share yours there too.

Because the next family choosing an airline deserves to know what travelling with allergies actually looked like for those who flew before them.

A child’s food allergy doesn’t change when they cross a border.The system around them can.For this comparison, I looked ...
20/08/2026

A child’s food allergy doesn’t change when they cross a border.
The system around them can.

For this comparison, I looked at preschool and childcare approaches across 25 places — including emergency response, staff preparedness, everyday food management and how celebrations and outside food are handled.

What stood out wasn’t simply whether allergy guidance existed. It was how differently responsibility can be distributed between the system, the individual setting, its staff and the child’s family.

Some places have clear, structured provisions.
Some rely heavily on individual providers or local arrangements.
And for some specific areas, I couldn’t identify a clear national provision at all.

That distinction matters.

Because knowing that a child has a food allergy is not the same as having a system prepared to protect them.

And “we’ll call you” is not an anaphylaxis emergency plan.

This comparison reflects national/state-level requirements and official guidance identified during the research. Individual childcare settings may have stronger policies.

The LEAP study changed the way we think about peanut allergy prevention.But it is also one of those studies that is ofte...
19/08/2026

The LEAP study changed the way we think about peanut allergy prevention.

But it is also one of those studies that is often reduced to a much simpler message than the study itself actually supports.

LEAP showed that, among high-risk infants included in the trial, early and regular peanut consumption substantially reduced the risk of developing peanut allergy.

But there is an important detail that often disappears from the conversation:

infants with a peanut skin-prick test wheal >4 mm at screening were not included in the randomized trial.

And the infants enrolled were 4–11 months old — not simply “4 months old.”

That matters.

Early oral exposure is an important part of the story, but it does not mean “give every allergen to every baby as early as possible.”

Age, developmental readiness, eczema, existing sensitization or allergy, and the individual child all matter.

The Dual-Allergen Exposure Hypothesis gives us a fascinating framework: exposure through an impaired skin barrier may promote sensitization, while oral exposure can promote tolerance.

But biology is rarely as simple as one sentence on social media.

And that is exactly why the details matter. ❤️

Next Wednesday: the Vitamin D Hypothesis.

Hipoteza dvostruke izloženosti pokušava objasniti nešto vrlo zanimljivo: možda nije važno samo jesmo li izloženi određen...
19/08/2026

Hipoteza dvostruke izloženosti pokušava objasniti nešto vrlo zanimljivo: možda nije važno samo jesmo li izloženi određenom proteinu hrane, nego i kojim putem ga imunološki sustav upoznaje.

Izloženost proteinima hrane kroz oštećenu ili upaljenu kožnu barijeru, osobito rano u životu, može potaknuti senzibilizaciju. S druge strane, oralna izloženost određenim alergenima može potaknuti razvoj imunološke tolerancije.

Jedan od najpoznatijih dokaza koji je promijenio naše razumijevanje prevencije alergije na kikiriki došao je iz LEAP studije. Kod visokorizične djece uključene u studiju, rana i redovita konzumacija kikirikija smanjila je relativni rizik razvoja alergije na kikiriki za oko 80%.

Ali taj rezultat ima važan kontekst koji se često izgubi kada se LEAP spominje na društvenim mrežama.

Djeca uključena u studiju bila su u dobi 4–11 mjeseci, a LEAP nije uključivao djecu s početnim SPT-om na kikiriki >4 mm.

Zato rana oralna izloženost ne znači jednostavno: „svakom djetetu dajte svaki alergen što prije.” Dob, razvojna spremnost, ekcem, postojeća senzibilizacija ili alergija i individualni rizik itekako su važni.

Hipoteza dvostruke izloženosti tako povezuje dvije priče koje smo već otvorili: zaštitu kožne barijere i pravodobno, sigurno oralno uvođenje alergena.

A istraživanja obje priče još uvijek traju. ❤️

Sljedeće srijede: hipoteza vitamina D.

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